Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol (2010) 9:99–102
DOI 10.1007/s11157-010-9206-7
WEB ALERT
Climate change and global warming
Wenxin Shi • Shuo Wang • Qianqian Yang
Published online: 7 May 2010
Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010
Climate change and its directly significant effect, i.e.,
global warming, have recently become more and more
remarkable global problems. Global atmospheric con-
centrations of CO2, CH4 and N2O have increased
markedly as a result of human activities since 1750,
thus the Earth’s climate must change somehow to
restore the balance between incoming and outgoing
radiation. Under the effect of global warming, sea level
will rise, which will cause potential impacts on human
life. People must find new styles to develop the
economy by using clean energy, making new emission
standards, increase producer responsibility for pollu-
tion, etc. Natural events and human activities are
believed to be contributing to an increase in average
global temperatures. In this issue, some important
websites were concentrated on to provide the readers
with more convenient, comprehensive and informative
resources related to climate change and global
warming.
W. Shi (&)
S. Wang
Q. Yang
State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resources
and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology,
150090 Harbin, China
e-mail: swx@hit.edu.cn
S. Wang
e-mail: dreamy2064@hotmail.com
Q. Yang
e-mail: haerbinqianer@163.com
1 UCS: leadership for a healthy planet
and a safety world
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) website
(http://www.ucsusa.org/) is the leading science-based
nonprofit organization working for a healthy envi-
ronment and a safer world. UCS combines indepen-
dent scientific research and citizen action to develop
innovative, practical solutions and to secure respon-
sible changes in government policy, corporate prac-
tices, and consumer choices. UCS stands out among
nonprofit organizations as the reliable source for
independent scientific analysis. In an increasingly
complex and technical world, rigorous and objective
research and analysis is essential to devise innovative
and effective solutions for cleaner air, energy and
transportation, to ensure food is produced in a safe
and sustainable manner, and to build a future free
from the threats of global warming and nuclear war.
In the website of UCS, many key challenges, such
as globe warming, clean vehicles, clean energy and
nuclear power, were all included. Global warming is
one of the most serious challenges facing us today.
To protect the health and economic well-being of
current and future generations, people must reduce
their emissions of heat-trapping gases, such as
CO2 and CH4, by using the technology, know-how,
and practical solutions already at disposal. The website
(http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/) supplies
readers with lots of information such as globe warming
science and impact, globe warming solutions and
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regional information, etc. For example, energy solu-
tions in the ‘‘global warming solutions’’ section were
discussed in basic and in depth analysed. Readers from
different levels can obtain the related information and
decide which way is better for global warming in
energy aspect.
The Catalyst magazine, Earthwise newspaper,
Latest report, and Greentips e-newsletter are the four
main magazines on the website. Many publications are
downloadable from the website (http://www.ucsusa.
org/publications/). For example, readers can download
a new series of reports entitled ‘‘The Confronting
Climate Change in the US Midwest’’. Edited by UCS
and leading climate scientists, the series provides an
in-depth look at the potential consequences of climate
change in the US Midwest. The series also shows that
without strong action to reduce heat-trapping emis-
sions, midwestern states could face dramatic changes
including increases in the number of extreme heat
days, heavier rains in the spring causing delays in
agricultural planting, and an expansion of the range for
crop-damaging pests.
2 CORE: carbon offset research & education
Carbon Offset Research & Education (CORE) (http://
www.co2offsetresearch.org) is an initiative of the
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), which is an
independent, international research institute bridging
science and policy for sustainable development.
CORE’s mission is to foster offset programs and
policies that maximize their potential benefits, while
minimizing their potential risks. The CORE team
conducts cutting-edge research to inform policy
makers and the general public. The content of the
website is based on research conducted separately for
US EPA, WWF and others.
This website (http://www.co2offsetresearch.org/
index.html) provides an up-to-date analysis and syn-
thesis of the most influential offset programs and
activities. It reflects on lessons learned, and aims to
inform consumers as well as participants and designers
of current and future offset programs. The website is
divided into three sections which are interlinked:
Policy Information, Consumer Information and Con-
sumer Information.
The Policy Information section (http://www.co2
offsetresearch.org/policy/index.html) of the CORE
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website provides in-depth analysis and up-to-date
information about offset design and policies. It aims to
foster offset programs and policies that maximize their
potential benefits, while minimizing their potential
risks. This section provides a systematic and compre-
hensive review of existing offset programs. It looks
what offsets are, how offset mechanisms function, and
the successes and pitfalls they have encountered.
Consumer Information (http://www.co2offsetresea
rch.org/consumer/index.html) provides a non-techni-
cal overview and introduction to carbon offsets, their
pros and cons, how they work and how to choose the
right ones. One may get started by reading the sections
‘‘What Makes Good Offsets?’’ and ‘‘Are Offset a
Scam?’’ and ‘‘the Introduction to Offset Markets’’.
One can also find a list of ‘‘Studies that Rate Offset
Providers’’ and ‘‘a Comprehensive List of Offset
Providers’’.
Aviation Information (http://www.co2offsetresea
rch.org/aviation/index.html) highlights the key fac-
tors that have to be taken into account when calcu-
lating air travel emissions for the purpose of climate
footprint and offset calculations.
3 GCRIO: global change research information
office
The Global Change Research Information Office
(GCRIO) (http://www.gcrio.org/index.php) provides
access to data and information on climate change
research, adaptation/mitigation strategies and tech-
nologies, and global change-related educational
resources on behalf of the various US Federal
Agencies that are involved in the US Global Change
Research Program (USGCRP; http://www.globalcha
nge.gov/).
GCRIO offers the following products and services
to its users: GCRIO acts as a clearinghouse for selected
key documents and reports that are either generated or
sponsored by the US Government or by specific
Federal Agencies. It provides high-level User Services
for the interagency Global Change Data and Informa-
tion System (GCDIS). Also, GCRIO performs out-
reach services to both domestic (Federal, state, and
local) and international target audiences (including
governments, institutions, researchers, educators, stu-
dents, and the general public) in an effort to showcase
relevant activities and results of the US Global Change
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Research Program and to help increase the awareness
of the availability of data and information resources of
the participating Federal Agencies.
GCRIO operates ‘‘Dr. Global Change’’ (http://
www.gcrio.org/doctorgc/index.php), a reference ser-
vice designed to assist researchers, students, educa-
tors, decision makers and the general public to find
information and data relevant to global environmen-
tal change.
The quickest and easiest way to order a document
that GCRIO distributes is to use the ‘‘Online Catalog’’
(http://www.gcrio.org/orders/index.php), in which one
can download PDFs of the latest reports by the US
Climate Change Science Program or order all products
in this catalog free of charge. For example, one can
order a 244 pages report ‘‘Our Changing Planet. The
US Climate Change Science Program for Fiscal Year
2010’’, which is a report by the Climate Change Sci-
ence Program and the Subcommittee on Global
Change Research and also a supplement to the Presi-
dent’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2010.
GCRIO provides selected key documents on-line
in full-text (http://www.gcrio.org/library/index.htm).
The selection for on-line placement is usually made
on the basis of importance to the USGCRP (e.g., the
annual production of Our Changing Planet). GCRIO
also provides access to bibliographic databases that
enable a user to identify documents and publications
from title, abstract and keyword searches (http://
www.gcrio.org/biblio.html).
4 IPCC: intergovernmental panel
on climate change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(http://www.ipcc.ch/index.htm) is the leading body
for the assessment of climate change, established by
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
to provide the world with a clear scientific view on
the current state of climate change and its potential
environmental and socio-economic consequences.
The IPCC reviews and assesses the most recent
scientific, technical and socio-economic information
produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of
climate change. It does not conduct any research nor
does it monitor climate related data or parameters.
Thousands of scientists from all over the world
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contribute to the work of the IPCC on a voluntary
basis. Review is an essential part of the IPCC process,
to ensure an objective and complete assessment of
current information. Differing viewpoints existing
within the scientific community are reflected in the
IPCC reports.
The main activity of the IPCC is to provide at
regular intervals Assessment Reports of the state
of knowledge on climate change (http://www.ipcc.
ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data.htm).
The latest one is ‘‘Climate Change 2007’’, the IPCC
Fourth Assessment Report. The IPCC produces also
Special Reports; Methodology Reports; Technical
Papers; and Supporting Material, often in response to
requests from the Conference of the Parties to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC), or from other environmental
Conventions. Some full reports and the summaries of
many reports are translated into the official UN lan-
guages. Most IPCC Reports published since 1997,
including non-English versions, are available online on
this web site and on CD-ROMs. Translations into some
non UN languages are also made available on this
website.
The IPCC Data Distribution Centre (DDC) (http://
www.ipcc-data.org/) provides climate, socio-eco-
nomic and environmental data, both from the past and
also in scenarios projected into the future. Technical
guidelines on the selection and use of different types
of data and scenarios in research and assessment are
also provided. The DDC web site has the following
areas: Climate observations, Climate model projec-
tions and simulations, Monthly means and climatol-
ogies, Socio-economic data, Environmental data and
Scenarios, Guidelines and other supporting material.
5 Climate strategies: assisting governments
in solving the collective action problem
of climate change
Mission of ‘‘Climate Strategies’’ (http://www.climate
strategies.org/) is to assist governments in solving the
collective action problem of climate change by con-
vening international groups of experts to provide
rigorous, fact-based and independent assessments on
international climate change policy. ‘‘Climate Strat-
egies’’ aims to connect leading applied research on
international climate change issues to the policy
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process and public debate, raising the quality and
coherence of advice provided on policy formation. To
effectively communicate insights into climate change
policy, ‘‘Climate Strategies’’ works with decision-
makers in governments and business, particularly, but
not restricted to, the countries of the European Union
and EU institutions.
‘‘Climate Strategies’’ is also a bridge between the
research sector and applied policy analysis. Climate
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Strategies acts in ways that can help governments to
manage the complexities both of assessing the
options, and of securing a degree of international
and stakeholder/public consensus around them. The
core capacity of ‘‘Climate Strategies’’ is, therefore, to
convene projects and give them impact in the
international and business communities.